A new adventure
by Ummmyeah
Summary: My first fic. Third Chapter: It looks like smooth sailing to Valua, but someone has other plans for the crew of the Cloudpiercer.
1. A Conversation Between Legends

I don't own the rights to Skies of Arcadia or Skies of Arcadia: Legends. Don't sue, I'm broke.

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Author's Note: Well, it's my first fanfic ever. I've been reading a lot of the stories here, though, so maybe I can put something decent together. Reviews, even bad ones, are appreciated. Constructive criticism is always a good thing.

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Italics is thought

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A Conversation Between Legends

It had been six months. Six long and plodding months since he had led a charge against Galcian, six months since he had faced Zelos, and six months since he had killed Fina's best friend. Sometimes he would feel the pang of remorse in the back of his consciousness, if only because of what seeing Ramirez die had done to her. She was almost always in her room crying, and if she wasn't she was moping around either Crescent Isle or their new ship, the _Cloudpiercer_. The only times that he had seen her happy since that day were at Enrique and Moegi's wedding, and the day of the _Cloudpiercer's_ maiden voyage.

Vyse decided that today was going to be different. They say that time heals all wounds, and he swore that no matter what, it would be no different with her. Even though deep down, he knew that it was. Usually when someone dies, people are supposed to mourn their loss and comfort those who knew the person. In Fina's case, she had not only seen one of her best friends kill her oldest friend, but when she reached out for someone to tell her that she would get over it, and that everything would be okay, they were all too busy celebrating it. But today was going to be different.

He walked slowly up do her door, a look of concern crossing his face when he heard soft sobs coming from within. He considered turning around and walking away, but no, he decided, he was going to do this right now. He knocked tentatively, almost as though afraid of something. "Fina? Can I come in?"

"V-Vyse?" He heard her say through the door.

"Yeah, Fina, I need to talk to you." _Why did Aika put me up to this? I want to help Fina, but I have no idea what I'm gonna say. How long have I been standing here? Probably long enough to look like an idiot._ _Moons, just let her open the door. _A million thoughts raced through his head at once.

"Okay, hang on," she finally responded. Her voice sounded hoarse, a far cry from the gentle tones that Vyse was used to hearing from her. As she opened the door, he could see that she had really gone downhill. Her room was completely disorganized, for one. It was completely unlike her to not have everything in its proper place. And Fina herself was in no great shape, either. She was wearing her traditional Silvite dress, which Vyse thought that she had stopped wearing in favor of her Blue Rogues outfit. It was torn and dirty, and as much could be said for the owner. Her normally pale face looked bright red, especially under her eyes. He could definitely tell that she had been crying, now.

She cleared off some of the clothes on her bed and sat down, motioning for Vyse to sit next to her. After closing the door and sitting down, he started talking. "Fina…" He didn't know what to say. He had come in with a plan before he came here, but seeing her like that just blew him away. She had become so different over these past months.

"What is it?"

"I…I just…" _Damn it, say something!_ "Everyone's worried about you. You haven't been yourself lately, since…that day, with Zelos and everything…" He didn't want to say Ramirez. He thought that she would start crying if he said it, and that was the last thing that he wanted. 

"Vyse…" she started.

"No, let me finish." He wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to say, but he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to keep going if she said anything. "I know that losing Ramirez was hard, and I wish things had turned out different, but they didn't. And now I'm afraid that Aika and I are losing you."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Fina. We barely ever see you anymore, and when we do, you're always depressed. It's not healthy, and we're worried." There. He said it. Now he just had to figure out what to say next. She didn't give him time to think before she responded.

"I don't want you to worry about me. Look, Vyse, Ramirez was my best friend. I knew him since before I can remember. It hurt me when you killed him. And even though I know that he might have destroyed Arcadia, something keeps telling me that it could have ended differently. We could have stopped him, Vyse." She stopped and looked at him for a response, her eyes starting to mist up again.

"We might have, but you can't let the what-ifs rule the rest of your life. I'd hate it if this thing with Ramirez ruined our friendship. And I was thinking, before I came here, that we haven't really gone sailing in a while. You know, just you, and me, and Aika. I think it would be good for all of us, and you used to have fun out there, right? Maybe it will get your mind off of all this." _Well, at least I hope it would. _It was true; they _hadn't_ been sailing for a while. The only sailing Vyse had done in the past three months was to go to Nasrad for supplies.

"I don't know. It's just…I don't know, let me think about it for a while." _It might be fun to go out sailing again. And I don't want Vyse and Aika worried, but I don't know if I'm ready to move on yet._

Vyse took that as his cue to leave her alone to think for a while. "Okay, maybe I'll talk to you later," he said as he got up and left.

"Okay."

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"Well, how did it go?" Aika asked eagerly. She had watched Vyse go into Fina's room from the balcony near Crescent Isle's meeting room, and she confronted him when he went up near the flagpole to think.

"Fine, I guess. She seemed a little better than usual." Vyse didn't seem all that convinced of that himself.

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I asked her if she wanted to go sailing. I figured maybe we could go and see Enrique and Moegi, and it would also give us a chance to spend time with Fina, maybe get her back to normal." He looked out at the sun setting over Valua, remembering back to the time that the three of them had seen that moonstone crash on Shrine Isle while they were sitting up on Lookout Island.

"That actually sounds like a good idea. I hope that she agrees to come," said the redhead quietly.

"Yeah, me too." Then, after a while, "It's starting to get dark out. Let's go grab some dinner," he said, walking down the hill.

"You know, that's a pretty good idea, too," she said following.

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When Vyse left, Fina sat there for a while considering what she should do. Finally she decided to consult another one of her oldest friends. "Cupil, what do _you_ think I should do?" Seeing as he had been acting as a bracelet for Fina during her conversation, he had heard the whole thing. He gave out an affirmative-sounding squeak, to which she responded, "I suppose you're right. It's been six months. I'm going to go sailing again."

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AN: Well, what do you think? Any potential here? Point out any mistakes or improvements I could make, and I'll try to make next chapter (if there is one) better.


	2. Setting Sail

See chapter one for disclaimer

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Author's note: As anyone who's read chapter one may have guessed, I'm pretty much making up this story as I go, except for a few vague ideas for later on. So just realize that I'm trying to make this as good as I can on the spur of the moment.

Thanks to anyone who reviewed, it's great to see that people actually like my story. Yes, there will be action later on, and I don't think I'm making it either a V/F or V/A fic. And as for the italics, I create the document on Word with all the formatting, then just save as both HTML and .doc, then upload the HTML version.

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Italics means thought

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Setting Sail

The tavern was emptier than Vyse liked it. Over the past few months, his crew had been moving on to different things in their lives. The only ones still around were Pinta, Kirala, Hans, Urala, and of course, Pow. Urala and Hans had seemed to be getting really close lately, and they kept dropping subtle hints about moving to Valua. It was kind of discouraging to see almost all of his crew leave him, and with the situation with Fina on top of that, it was almost unbearable. But he kept up his hopes that Fina would come around eventually. Little did he know that the moons would answer his prayers, and rather soon, in fact.

Right before Urala started serving dinner, Fina just walked in and sat down between Vyse and Aika like the past six months hadn't happened. Everybody stared in near-disbelief for a minute, but no one said anything. Finally Urala continued serving the meal, and what was left of the crew went about their own business. After everyone started eating, Fina said, "I want to go," just loud enough for Vyse and Aika to hear.

Vyse smiled at her and said, "I'm glad to hear that." 

Aika had a grin bigger than the moons themselves. "It's gonna be so much fun to go out sailing again. I really miss it."

"Yes, I suppose I do, too," said Fina, who finally allowed a bit of happiness to shine through. She had even taken the time to change into her Blue Rogues uniform before coming down to the tavern. _Maybe she's ready to move on, after all_ thought Vyse.

The rest of the meal passed in relative silence, except for the occasional request to pass the salt/butter/loqua etc. All that Vyse knew was that the tavern didn't seem as empty anymore.

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That night Vyse had a dream. In it he was sailing all over the world with his two best friends. He saw visions of Ixa'Taka, Yafutoma, Valua, and many other places and people. All the while, though, there was a darkness in the back of his mind. It was small, yes, but it was there. And it was growing.

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By the following morning, Vyse's dream was long forgotten. He was now completely focused on the task at hand. Namely, loading up the _Cloudpiercer_ with supplies for their voyage. He had decided earlier that none of the crew was going to come with them, except for his loyal huskra, Pow. He didn't want the extra burden of carrying them along, and they had enough food for at least two months. Also, the _Cloudpiercer _didn't have as much room as the _Delphinus,_ which Vyse had returned to Enrique when he was crowned Emperor. 

"Are you sure you don't want us to come? There might be an emergency while you are out there, and my skills could come in handy."

Vyse put down the crate of smoked Sardis he was carrying and turned to see the face of his young engineer, Hans. "I think I can handle pretty much anything that might come up. You tend to learn a few things if you've spent almost your entire life as either a crewmember or a captain." Seeing Hans' disappointment, he added, "Besides, Urala is staying behind, too. And you don't want her to be lonely, now, do you?"

Hans turned slightly red, then wandered off, muttering something about his captain's impeccable logic. Just as Vyse was about to pick up his crate again, Aika came up and started talking to him. "That was a pretty smooth dodge, Vyse."

"Eh, kids are easy to figure out," he responded, despite the fact that he was only older than Hans by a few months. 

"Whatever. So why are you so dead set on it only being us three that are going, anyway? I mean, it's not as though the rest of the crew isn't _able_ to come."

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I knew somebody was going to ask me this he thought. "Well, I suppose the real reason is that…well, there are a couple reasons. The main one being that I think it will give us more time with Fina. Even though she seems to be better, I'm afraid that she might not be. We'll need her if we don't have a crew, so we're going to have to try to deal with any problems that she has right then and there. And she hasn't been off the island for months. She needs to see that the world isn't against her."

"Doing that to her is a little cruel, but I suppose it might be her best chance at getting over his death."

"Whose death?" Fina had just walked down from the _Cloudpiercer_'s deck, and right into the middle of their conversation.

Vyse, quickly recovering from his shock, said, "We were…uh…we were just talking about Doc telling Maria about her father's death." _Oh, crap! Ramirez killed Maria's dad! Please don't remember, please don't remember…_

If she remembered, she didn't show it. She just said, "Oh, I see. You know, it would be really nice to see those two again. Anyway, I just checked all the controls on the bridge, and Hans told me he checked the engine earlier. We should be set to go as soon as you two are ready."

As she walked away, Vyse sighed and said, "That was too close."

"You know we've got to talk to her about it sometime," said Aika.

"Yeah, just not yet. Now help me move this box, and we can get going in a few minutes," Vyse said, gesturing towards the Sardis crate he had been carrying earlier. Together they brought it up the gangplank and down to the cargo area, with Pow running circles around them. Even though Vyse could have done it himself, having help made it faster. Then they walked up to the bridge, where Fina was already waiting for them.

"Are you guys ready?" asked Aika. When they both nodded, Aika sent out a signal from the communications station, and the outline of a square appeared in the darkness behind the ship. Gradually the top and sides increased in size, finally revealing the teeming mass of sky and clouds outside.

When the hatch on the back of the island was fully open, and the ship's engines started roaring into life, Vyse said, "Oh, wait. I almost forgot!" He ran out onto the deck, and Aika and Fina saw him pulling in the gangplank as fast as he could without help. When he was done, he waved to them. Aika walked over to the movement controls, Vyse's usual position, and slowly backed the ship out of the island. Almost as soon as they were clear of the edges, Vyse came back onto the bridge and relieved Aika of the helm. He turned the ship, and put the engines on full forward. Pow gave an affirmative bark, and they were off.

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AN: Ok, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Reviews are appreciated!


	3. Valua Bound

Disclaimer's on the top of the first chapter.

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AN: This chapter has taken forever just to get started. I've got plenty of ideas for it, though, so maybe it will be good. I guess I'll just have to start writing and see what happens. 

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Italics means thought

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Valua Bound

Vyse couldn't sleep. He lay there in his bunk for what seemed like forever, but still he remained conscious. He tried counting huskras. No luck. This kind of thing had happened to him countless times before. The one thing that always worked was a nice walk in the fresh air. He rolled quietly out of his bunk, not wanting to disturb his companions' rest.

He tiptoed over to the door, and then opened it. He grimaced as it creaked, but the only thing that happened was that Aika mumbled something about 'not stealing the gold' into her pillow. Her pillow was thoroughly convinced. Once outside the door, Vyse shut it as quietly as possible. He made his way up to the bridge, just to make sure everything was still working.

They had been traveling for three days, and they had made excellent time. They were already past Nasrad, and they were anchored on the far side of the South Dannel Strait, right near the stone reef. Vyse went through each of the stations on the bridge, first checking the engine, then the helm, the altitude controls, and so on. Everything seemed fine, so he went out to check the anchor.

When he first opened the door to the deck, he was greeted by a blast of cool night air. This time of year, it would usually be freezing outside in any other part of the world. But since they were still in Nasr, the red moon warmed up the air to a more pleasant temperature. He strolled out onto the deck, and over towards the bow. 

Vyse leaned over one side of the ship and looked down, his line of sight following the anchor's chain. While it looked pretty secure from where he was standing, he couldn't really tell. He was in his pajamas, and he was lacking his eyepatch, so he couldn't zoom in to tell. _Oh, well. If we drift into the stone reef, we drift into the stone reef _thought Vyse. He wasn't about to wake up Aika and Fina just so that he could reset the anchor to a more secure position.

He looked up to the crow's nest, and decided to climb up. He went over to the rigging and began his ascent. Once at the top, he clambered over the nest's railing and surveyed the area around him. From where he was, Vyse could see three moons. A bit to the north of straight up was where the red moon resided. Off on the southeast horizon, the silver moon was watching silently over Mid Ocean. In the west, and a little north, the yellow moon stood like a sentinel guarding Valua, Enrique's domain. So many memories brought on from just looking around this one spot. 

Just as Vyse was about to climb down to try and get some rest, he heard a noise from the deck. He looked down to see Fina gently shutting the door behind her, then walking to the bow, Cupil in tow. Vyse watched as she, too, looked towards the heavens. She stood there for a while, then she sighed and walked back inside. Vyse stood silent during this time, not wanting to disturb her. He waited for a few minutes after she had gone in before climbing down and making his way back to his own bed.

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The next day was as bright and sunny as Vyse had ever remembered. The only clouds he could see were off in the west, the direction they were planning on going. They were the clouds caused by the yellow moon, the ones that kept Valua in perpetual night. Vyse wasn't worried about that, though. Ever since Enrique became Valua's emperor, the clouds seemed less violent than they were before.

The three rogues were at their usual positions on the bridge. Vyse was at the helm, Aika was standing by the communications console, and Fina was watching various dials that indicated the state of the engine. Cupil was playing with Pow behind them, chasing him around the table with several maps spread out on it. Even before they lifted anchor, they saw it coming.

It started out as a black smudge on the horizon. As it drew closer to them, they saw that it was a ship. A very, very big ship. There had to have been at least twenty sails (all black), and as many cannons sticking out the sides and back. It seemed that Baltor intended to make good on his word to defeat Vyse.

"Aika, Fina, you guys go down on deck and get the cannons ready. I want to make this quick, we need to get going if we want to make Valua by nightfall." The two girls gave little nods before leaving the bridge and going down on deck. Vyse could see them put powder and cannonballs in each of the eight cannons while he was powering up the engine. There wasn't enough time to get the sails unfurled, so they would be fighting at a disadvantage. _All right, Baltor, let's see what you've got._

Vyse waited until just before Baltor turned broadside and fired his first volley before he jammed one lever forward, another backwards, and spun the helm to the left. The result was instatnaneous. The _Cloudpiercer_ went into a deep swoop, and then turned her cannons upward as five cannonballs passes within inches of her flag. As the cannons turned up, Fina and Aika each fired off two of them into Baltor's lower hull.

With a satisfied grin at the distant crunch that he heard, Vyse shouted, "Hold on to something, this is gonna get bumpy!" into the talking tube next to him. He saw Aika and Fina secure themselves to the mast with some rope as he dove even more to avoid another volley. This time he wasn't as lucky, though. Baltor had anticipated another dive, and he had aimed his cannons low. 

Vyse's grin was replaced with a look of anger, then horror, as he saw part of the deck explode into pieces, then Fina tumbling over the railing, a severed piece of rope tied around her waist. Aika had apparently not seen. She fired off two more rounds, which tore into Baltor's main mast and engine, respectively. Baltor's ship hovered, crippled, and retracted its cannons. Vyse slowed the ship, then screamed, "Aika, what happened to Fina?! Can you see her?" down the talking tube. They were over a small island, but even with Vyse's swooping, they were at least 20 feet off the sand at their lowest.

Aika looked over the railing, then gave a hesitant chuckle. "Vyse, you're never gonna believe this."

"What? What happened?"

"Do you remember the wandering lake? Well, I think Fina found it again." At this point she actually started laughing, and all Vyse could do was sit there with his mouth hanging open. _There's no way. It's impossible._ But there she was, pulling herself up onto a beach on a floating bowl of rock.

"Moons," he whispered to himself.

"Hey! Vyse!" yelled a gruff voice from the communications station, "I've got to admit, that was some great flying. Hell, you might be as good as me one day! But I'm still going to get you some day, and I won't take it easy on you, either!"

Vyse didn't even bother to respond to Baltor. He just lowered his altitude and positioned the _Cloudpiercer_ to land by the floating lake. He shut down the engine, then walked out on deck, where Aika was still laughing like a maniac. When he looked out onto the beach, he saw Fina standing there in her Blue Rogues outfit, soaked. _Well, I guess I was right way back when. There's no such thing as impossible._

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Within the hour, they were sailing. There was a strong wind coming from the east, so they barely had to use their engine for the rest of the day. Fina had gotten changed, and was standing once again at the engineering station. Aika was out repairing the spot where the deck had been hit, and Vyse was, as always, at the helm.

Just before the sun set, the remains of the Valuan Grand Fortress came into view. As they drew nearer, Vyse could make out construction crews still hard at work dissassembling some of the larger pieces of debris before clearing them away. So far they had managed to make a relatively straight path towards what was once the most feared city in the world.

Immediately recognizing the flag, the construction crews cheered as the _Cloudpiercer_ made its way through. Upon entering the bay that once separated the two classes of Valua, Vyse could see several ships on patrol. Not that they were really needed. Most people feared to attack Valua nowadays, lest they invoke the wrath of Vyse, the 'fire-spitting demon' as Enrique once claimed that Vyse was known as.

"Hey guys, look!" said Aika through the talking tube, pointing off to the left. Vyse and Fina looked over, and there it was. The ship of legends, the crowned jewel of the armada, flagship of the Emperor himself. The _Delphinus_ was floating near the area of Old Upper City, looking as majestic as ever. It still had Vyse's flag engraved and painted onto it in various places. Just seeing it again made Vyse's blood run thick with adrenaline. All the adventures had in that ship were enough for twenty lifetimes.

The voice of a young man came crackling through the communication console, "This is the _VAS_ _Delphinus._ We have informed the Emperor of your arrival, and have been instructed to escort you to the docks. Welcome to Valua, Captain Vyse."

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AN: OK, time for you guys to review. Tell me how I screwed up, tell me what I did well, and generally help me write better. If you've got any suggestions as to where I should go from here, tell me. I basically know how the big plot's going to unfold, but I'm always open to suggestion.


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